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"How many women you see in this kitchen? Only me. Why do you think that is? Because high cuisine is an antiquated hierarchy built upon rules written by stupid, old men. Rules designed to make it impossible for women to enter this world, but still I'm here. How did this happen?"

"You think cooking is a cute job, eh? Like Mommy in the kitchen? Well, Mommy never had to face the dinner rush while the orders come flooding in, and every dish is different, and none are simple, and all different cooking time, but must arrive at the customer's table at the exactly the same time, hot and perfect! Every second counts and you CANNOT be MOMMY!"

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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Ever thought about making marshmallows? I did. I saw it on Food Network and I was immediately hooked. I needed to know the process, and thus needed to~overdo it. I must confess this whole blogger template thing, for the most part is rather easy, with no major snags, UNTIL TODAY!!! For some reason, the Lentil soup post did have a uber annoying problem, that would not, and I repeat would not go away!!! I saw the problem in the HTML, deleted and it triggered a form error. I deleted the entire paragraph, thinking that would fix the $%^&*(#@& problem, but nope. It just further _____(fill in the blank) things up.

So, as you might have guessed, the Lentil soup post went buh~bye. I was so beyond frustrated, it was easier to just hit delete, than save an already fractured post. From this point, I still am not sure what the jingle bells went on.

Anyway back to the marshmallows, at the bakery, I try to make them when the temperature changes. If you did not know this by now, I live in the Northeast. New England during this time of the year, is worse than cold. In fact just Monday, the kids had a 2 hour delay, due to the -31F temperature. I am not kidding you on that. At 7am, when my oldest goes to school (he is 9th grade) the temperature was -20 degrees. I can understand, not forcing my child to stand at the bus stop for 10 minutes at -20 degrees.

I don't know about you folks, and judging by the feedjit thingy, you are all over the world. But I am still, in the middle of what I thought was Vermont, and now I am thinking it is Antarctica. Some people adore cold weather, and I love it to a point, but when it starts to move into my livelihood, I get a little antsy. I have not had a full 40 hour week since New Year's Eve~ due to the bakery being closed for cleaning and regrouping and the @#$%&^&#% snow storms.

HTML is a learning curve I am trying, but it is taxing nonetheless. I have the information, right here in my brain and my camera, but....at some point the wires get crossed. Anyway, looking back at the last 5 pictures, they are the beginnings of peppermint marshmallows. The first photo is the extract and the red food coloring, which gives the marshmallow the candy cane effect. The second photo is the gelatin that has been bloomed after being sprinkled over cold water. The 3rd photo is the sugars and water in the heavy-bottomed saucepan. The 4th photo is the egg whites and vanilla whipped (like a red-headed step-child) to stiff peaks.

The 5th photo is what your pan should look like, when the marshmallows land. By that I mean, wrapped with foil, sprayed with pan spray, beyond the normal expectancy of what one would spray + 2, and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Sugar, she is a wild banshee! You have to know what you are looking for. Believe me you!!, I mean business with this one. Sugar, can turn into a nasty dry mess within minutes, if you don't treat her right, and I speak from experience. I have come from, a caramel state, into a what the #$%&^*& heck result. The heat, plays a huge part in the finished product. Consistent heat is the key.

Candy Cane Marshmallows

4 cups granulated sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup warm water

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup cold water

6 level tablespoons gelatin

4 egg whites

3 tsps pure vanilla extract

1 tsp pure peppermint extract

2 to 3 drops of red food coloring

pan spray

heavy duty tinfoil

1 13x9 pan
powdered sugar to dust

Prepare a 13x9 pan with heavy duty aluminum foil, liberally spray with pan spray and sprinkle all sides with powdered sugar. In a saucepan combine the granulated sugar, corn syrup and warm water and set on stove. In a standing mixer, add 1 cup cold water and sprinkle 6 tablespoons of gelatin over the cup of water, set aside. In another mixing bowl, whip the 4 egg whites with 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract till it forms still peaks, set aside. Heat the sugars and water, until the temperature with a candy thermometer reaches 240. In that standing mixer containing the bloomed gelatin and water, add the hot sugar and combine with a wooden spoon. Turn mixer on and graduate to high slowly. Mix on high till sugar becomes white, fluffy and double in volume. Add the whipped egg whites until combined, mix at high speed for a minute. Add peppermint extract and red food coloring and mix on low for a few turns.(like the above picture) Pour into the prepared 13x9 pan, sprinkle with powdered sugar and let set overnight to set. Next day, turn out peel off aluminum foil, cut and enjoy.

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